Beauty Is Only Skin Deep
by animecutie610
Summary: A one-shot I wrote in order to show that Yumichika is about more than just beauty. His thoughts and feelings after Aizen invaded Karakura Town. Mostly a Yumichika and Ikkaku friendship story, but you can interpret it either way you want, really.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Okay, so it has occurred to me that some authors (not naming anyone in particular) think that Yumichika can be considered 'in character' if they have him say the word 'beautiful' every two sentences. Now, this might've been fine if it was after the first episode we saw him in, when he was just a pretty boy who got a face full of sand via Ganju. But now, his character is much more in depth. He has a huge secret, a backstory, and I feel that just writing him as saying 'beautiful' doesn't do justice to his character.**

**So, as a challenge to people who think Yumichika's character is all about 'beautiful', I have decided to write a one-shot about him without using the word 'beautiful' once!**

**Now, I've ranted enough, so on to the real story.**

* * *

Yumichika blew a stray strand of hair out of his face and stretched his arms. It felt good to move around freely after his stay at Squad 4.

He had taken the liberty to take a stroll around the Seireitei after being cooped up for his injuries.

Honestly, they weren't even that bad, but the healers insisted that he stay until he was fully healed. At first he tried to tell them he was fine and that he could go back to the Squad Eleven barracks, but then Unohana-taicho showed up. Sometimes, that woman could be more frightening than Zaraki-taicho.

It went a little like this...

Yumichika blearily opened his eyes. He looked around the room to find that he was in Squad 4.

He raised an eyebrow. Why would he be in Squad 4...? His head throbbed and he raised a hand to his temple to find that he had bandages around his head.

That's right... He was in a fight. Aizen had invaded Karakura...

He was assigned to guard one of the pillars that held the real Karakura Town in the Soul Society.

Then... Then Charlotte Chuhlhourne showed up...

Yumichika shuddered at the thought of the..._ unique_ Arrancar.

The fight must've been what ended him up in Squad 4. ...But, something happened after the fight...

Yumichika tried to ignore the headache that was most likely caused by a blow to the head and thought back to the fight.

After he finished off Charlotte, he concentrated on the other's reiatsu. It seemed like Izuru and Shuuhei had won.

Then Ikkaku's reiatsu...

_Ikkaku!_

Yumichika sat straight up in the hospital bed.

_What happened to Ikkaku?_

Then, the 7th seat Hanatarou came through the door. "Ayasegawa-san!" he said when he saw that Yumichika was up.

Yumichika started to get up. "How long was I out?"

"Ayasegawa-san!" Hanatarou squeaked. "You shouldn't be moving just yet!"

Yumichika ignored his protests and stood up. "I feel fine." he insisted.

"Ayasegawa-san, you really shouldn't be up. You need to rest." Hanatarou stepped in front of Yumichika, though he looked like he'd rather do anything but.

Yumichika was about to insist that he was fine again, but Unohana-taicho came into the room. "Ayasegawa-san, please refrain from making a ruckus and disturbing the other patients." she said with her signature smile.

"Er... Hai, Unohana-taicho..." Yumichika said reluctantly.

Unohana-taicho smiled warmly, though it was still very unsettling. "Is there something that's upsetting you, Ayasegawa-san?"

"Er... Is Ikkaku...?" Yumichika didn't get to finish because Unohana-taicho turned to face the door and said, "Please follow me, Ayasegawa-san."

She walked out of the room and Yumichika followed her. Hanatarou looked surprised that Unohana-taicho was letting Yumichika walk around, but did nothing to voice his opinion.

Unohana-taicho led Yumichika to a room near the emergency room, which did nothing to help Yumichika's nerves. If Ikkaku went and got himself killed... Yumichika wasn't quite sure what he'd do.

Thinking about it, it would be the ultimate case of irony if Ikkaku got himself killed. Every fight Ikkaku's had, Yumichika always watched from the sidelines. Ikkaku would never let him interfere, but he was always right there. If Ikkaku died, Yumichika would be next to him the whole time.

But, in the one fight where Yumichika was gone, Ikkaku's reiatsu vanished...

Unohana-taicho opened the door and gestured for Yumichika to go in, even though she herself made no move to enter.

Yumichika stepped through the door and wave a relief flooded through him.

Lying on a hospital bed was the bandaged form of Ikkaku. He looked pretty badly beaten up, but he was alive nonetheless.

Yumichika wasn't quite sure what he would've done next, but Unohana-taicho's voice interrupted his thoughts, "Ayasegawa-san, now that you've been assured that Madarame-san is alive, would you kindly return to your room and stop disturbing the other patients?"

"H-hai, Unohana-taicho..." ...Yeah, definitely scarier than Zaraki-taicho...

Yumichika continued his walk and his mind drifted back to Ikkaku. Now he knew the entire story behind why he lost. The idiot had been too stubborn to release his bankai.

Yumichika sighed. For someone who was obsessed with being strong, he sure was infuriating when it came to showing his full power.

But, then again, was Yumichika any better? Sure, he used his 'ace-in-the-hole', so to speak, to defeat Charlotte, but if Charlotte hadn't used _Rosa Blanca_, Yumichika wouldn't have dreamed of using it.

If he was in Ikkaku's position... Would he have done the same thing? ...He was over-thinking things. It doesn't matter what he might've done, what's been done is already done.

...But, could he really call Ikkaku an idiot for not releasing his bankai if he would've done the same thing? ...Maybe he was just mad because he didn't want Ikkaku to die...

Okay, now he was really overthinking things. Yumichika shook himself out of his thoughts. He and Ikkaku were both alive, even with with Ikkaku's bruised pride. But Yumichika knew Ikkaku. Once his pride was bruised, he started training, until he thought he was now better than whatever it was that bruised his pride.

And, thus, everything would be right and just in Ikkaku's little world. It was quite amusing, actually, to see him working so hard to beat something in the past, but that was Ikkaku, and if Ikkaku was anything, he was himself. One hundred percent of the time.

That was one of the things Yumichika admired about him. Ikkaku never changed to fit someone's perception of strength. He just got stronger until that person had to change their beliefs on what strength really was. And in Yumichika's opinion, that was what strength was.

In fact, that's what Ikkaku did when they first met. Yumichika told him that swinging his sword around in a blood lust wasn't real fighting. Back then, he thought Ikkaku was quite barbaric, to be frank.

But then, he changed Yumichika's perspective. Enjoying the fight didn't make it less of a fight. Yumichika decided to travel with Ikkaku, and then, one fateful day, Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi came into their lives.

Ikkaku and Zaraki-taicho had a fight while Yumichika and Yachiru-fukutaicho watched from the sidelines. Zaraki-taicho was the only one to ever get Ikkaku to reconsider what true strength was.

Yumichika thought about Zaraki-taicho and Yachiru-fukutaicho and then about himself and Ikkaku. They weren't really different. Zaraki-taicho and Ikkaku fought to their last breath, never giving in, and always enjoying the fight.

Yumichika and Yachiru-fukutaicho weren't exactly like the rest of the Eleventh Squad, but they fit in just fine.

Zaraki-taicho and Ikkaku… Yumichika and Yachiru-fukutaicho… They were mirror images of each other.

Yumichika smiled as he approached the 11th Squad barracks. He walked in and saw Ikkaku sitting down, with white bandages still on him. He insisted that he could leave Squad 4, and the healers approved his request, but demanded that he couldn't participate in training or any physical exertion until he was healed, and Ikkaku complained about this to no end.

Yumichika sat down next to him. "Hey, Ikkaku."

"Hey. Where were you?" Ikkaku asked.

"Just stretching my legs." Yumichika answered absentmindedly.

"Lucky you. I hate being stuck in here. I want to train!" Ikkaku complained.

Yumichika gave a little laugh. "I'm sure you do."

Ikkaku raised an eyebrow. "Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

Yumichika shrugged. "Nothing. Just that whenever you lose a fight, you train to no end. You're pretty predictable."

"Oi! I haven't lost enough for you to be able to predict that!" Ikkaku countered.

"Whatever you say, Ikkaku. Whatever you say."

"Oi! What're you trying to say? Don't ignore me, Yumichika!"

* * *

**Wow, that was really easy not to include 'beautiful'... I thought I might want to put it in once or twice, but I never even felt the need to. This just proves that he's about more than being beautiful.**


End file.
